Wednesday, June 27, 2018

The Foabeléth
Ordirrex, my megadungeon, begins beneath the city of Booezor with six minor dungeons as entrances. This is a diagram of their levels, features and connections. Each square on the outline indicates a dungeon map (level one of the sewer is three maps large), each line a connection between maps, and each numbered node a "feature". Beyond this diagram the minor dungeons eventually connect and continue downward for at least five more levels.

I'd like to fully write up and map the first level of each minor dungeon. If I can accomplish that I'll see how I feel about the remaining levels, but it isn't exactly my aim to detail this whole megadungeon. I've got a list of around fifty monsters to be illustrated and stated.

Labrynthyne
(3 levels) – a quasi-extradimensional prison structure built to
contain magic users. It is filled with creatures that ignore,
twist, or feed on magic energies, convicts too dangerous (or hated)
to kill, and beings from other planes.

(levels are
randomly generated each time it is entered, connections to other areas are random)

1 Astral Passage
– permanent connection to the astral plane (lvl 1).

2 The Parasite
Ship – an illithid living ship from Quiddath is anchored to
this reality here (lvl 2).

3 Nexus
– an area of repeatedly folded space, potentially connects to
various other points in the megadungeon (lvl 3).

Filth
Pits / Refuse Dump (3 levels) –
the size of small town and with a population of people to match, the
city's dumping grounds have become their own multi-leveled ecosystem
and cave complex, eventually meeting the sewers or the twin
underground helical rivers.

4 Trash Town –
village of monstrous freaks and lepers (lvl 1).

5 The
Corpsegrounds – junction of
Dump and Tomb, dumping place for bodies of the lowest class
citizens (lvl 1).

6 Rusted Reef
– an ecology built around the rusted hulks of ancient machinery
(lvl 2).

7 Grunglegon
the Glutton Wyrm's Lair – the
largest and maddest of the Glutton Wyrms makes its home here (lvl
3).

8 Sludgefalls
– junction of Sewer and Dump, empties into Xeeres river which
winds down to the underground sea
(lvl 3).

Oldcity
Sewer System (3 levels) – the
functional and nonfunctional sewer systems of several iterations of
the city built on top of each other. A huge mess of tunnels and
chutes that spans more than twice the length of the city.

8 Sludgefalls
– junction of Sewer and Dump, empties into Xeeres river which winds
down to the underground sea (lvl 3).

12 Ekkaslurem
the Cistern Wyrm's Lair
– the oldest of the Cistern Wyrms and god of the Troggers makes
its home here (lvl 3).

Tomb
of Mountain's Heart (5 levels)
– its earliest parts were dug deep into the heart of the Sculpted
Mountain, and the subsequent generational levels were stacked on top
of each other one after another as the city grew. It occupies
little horizontal space but a great deal of vertical space.

5 The
Corpsegrounds – junction of
Dump and Tomb, dumping place for bodies of the lowest class
citizens (lvl 1).

13 Necropolis
I – the city of the dead
frequented by the living mournful (lvl 1).

16 Sleeping Fossil
Veins – junction of Tomb and Mine, the resting place of innumerable ancient creatures, their remains pressed together
into undead chimera (lvl 3).

15 Necropolis II
– the true city of the dead, only frequented by them (lvl 3).

17 Bone
Pentagrammetricon – a great unholy device, a powerful altar for
interacting with spirits of the dead (lvl 4).

18 Lich Queen's
Throne – one of the elder rulers of Booezor holds her wraith
court in the deepest part of the tombs (lvl 5).

Moonmetal
Mine (4 levels) – silver IS
magic in the “Furthest Lands”, not a currency. Occasionally
silver or Moonmetal will rain down from the sky as meteorites. The
most closely guarded mine on the lower slopes of Booezor's Sculpted
Mountain was once a steady source of the magical metal.

Friday, June 22, 2018

Some information and a diagram dealing with tiers of the magic city of Booezor and its inhabited tiers. The businesses noted are meant to be a sample of what can be found on each layer, not a complete list of what is there. Following that is a d100 buildings table for generating neighborhoods and such when needed.

Tiers
of the City

I. The Weave,
a hanging shantytown and scattered caves hung from the side of the
sculpted mountain, difficult to get to, many entrances exist, not
considered part of the city proper.

Cave
of Hours, a low quality tavern and drug den (Hours is the name of
the owner).

Mazadam's
Heap, general store.

Lidless
Yero's Aviary, live birds, and other small animals.

II. Bottomshelf
/ Beastmile, lower cliff villages each with their own name,
difficult to get to, many entrances exist, not considered part of
the city proper, and the city's external animal market, a town in
itself.

III. Fruitbasket
/ Waspnest / the Sprawl, the lowest main level of the city,
street after street of markets, shops, residences, taverns, and
lodging.

Medium
crime, Census Objex presence, standard equipment.

Cup
of Chips & the Coinpot Silo, a circular metal building with a
diamond motif, the feehouse were duties to the city are paid by
every caravan and merchant, and the church-sized squat entryless silo
where the fees are stored.

Bustide's
Mineral Scrubhouse, baths.

Grebe-chen's
Amazing Fruit, specialty and magic fruits.

Arklen's
Alchemaestry, apothecary.

The
Paper Palace, a brothel.

Lamseda's
Layplace, the cheapest and largest flophouse.

Skreefa's
Softest Sheets, good quality lodging.

The
Purple Cloud, a tavern.

High
Sun's Shadow, a low quality tavern.

Ansere's
First Sip, a tavern, drug and gambling den.

The
Overfull Bowl, a good quality tavern.

Steel
Plunjeet, weapons and armor.

Kanzabaa's
Marvelous Futures, fortune
telling.

IV. Secondmarket
/ Cindiband, the higher classed and more specialized markets and
shops are here, fine work can be purchased, the residences are
higher, the entertainment more elaborate.

VI.
Stoneforest,
bridge-connected highspires house the super-rich, the
mage elite, and their clustered entertainments.

Only
high class crime, high
Census Objex presence, all equipment

The
Candriar Library, a library.

Garma
Merilkian's Zoo, park zoo.

Primeris
Club, a high quality tavern,
brothel, and gambling house.

The
Szandikan, high quality lodging.

First
Sphere, arena entertainment.

VII. Precious
Pillars, the highest and most improbable towers belong to the
most venerable Children, some unaligned magi, the ultra-rich (1%),
and the oldest wizard houses.

Only
high class crime, high
Census Objex presence, all equipment.

House
Aldabodath, a noble
wizard clan.

House
Primis, a noble wizard clan.

House
Nyremn, a noble wizard
clan.

House
Gaerabin, a noble wizard clan.

VIII. The Egg,
a permanent physical extrusion, made of pure magic, of a vast
extradimensional space that serves as the campus of the Children.
Truly there is a palace within
the space the Egg describes.

No crime,
highest Census Objex presence.

House
of the Second Lens, an oracular focus device.

The
Librariax Ovum, the great library of the Children.

The
Azure Palace, high council seat
of the Children.

Booezor
Buildings Table (d100)

01
Advocate

02-04
Animal Dealer / Breeder

05-06
Apothecary

07-08
Arena Sphere

09-11
Armorer

12
Bakery

13-14
Bookbinder

15-16
Bowyer/Fletcher

17
Brewery

18-20
Brothel

21-22
Butcher

23-24
Chandler

25-26
Component Shop

27
Court

28-29
Curiosity Shop

30-31
Drug Den

32-34
Flophouse

35-36
Fortuneteller

37-38
Furrier

39
Gallery

40-41
Gambling Den

42-44
General Store

45
Glassworks

46-47
Healer

48-50
Hotel

51-52
Jeweler

53-55
Locksmith

56-57
Mall (indoor market)

58-59
Mason

60-61
Moneychanger

62
Muralist / Painter

63-65
Private Residence

66-67
Salon

68
Sanitarium

69-71
Scholar

72-73
Scribe

74
Sculptor

75-76
Shrine

77-79
Storehouse

80-81
Tailor

82-83
Tanner

84-87
Tavern

88-89
Temple

90
Theater

91
Watchtower

92-94
Weaponsmith

95
Weaver

96-98
Winery

99-00
Misc. Entertainment

I am hard at work on the early minor dungeon levels themselves at this point, so more megadungeon junk to follow. Till next time.

Wednesday, June 13, 2018

This is it, the final minor dungeon encounter table, 6/6 the Moonmetal (Magical Silver) Mine. I actually finished a series of a thing, lookit that. That means there's hope for completion of my playable races and the other primary encounter tables, the d100 ones. I still have badlands, seas, general subterranean and probably a bunch more left to do.

1. Moon Mites –
flat, chrome-shelled arachnids with bolt cutter jaws, found dormant
in fallen moonrocks, their bodies are incredibly hard and shatter all
but the finest weapons, they now continuously plague the living
creatures of the mines when new clusters are discovered.

3. EEKs –
Explosive Excavation Konstructs, small ambulatory bomb creatures,
they come in a range of sizes, their only attacks are a nasty bite
and devastating self destruction.

4. Xyrx –
creature of elemental earth, like a starfish with only three arms,
there are purple gem-like eyes between each arm, and three-jawed
toothy mouth opening in the center of each side, the whole creature
is fifteen feet across and moves through solid rock like air hunting
for delicious gemstones and rare metals.

5. Cannontail
– 15' long rock-eating reptile, combines minerals in special glands
and fires a kind of molten cannonball from its false head tail,
migrate from the depths to here for the delicious mining scree and
deposits of salts.

12. Moonmythus
Agents – unauthorized and secretive silver seekers from the
Moonmythus group, suspicious of others if not downright hostile.

13. Shard Leech
Scree - razor-edged stones used as the shell of a 4"-14"
land mollusc, hide in areas of loose rock waiting for man size or
larger prey, throw themselve en masse at a target, pierce flesh and
release a mild paralytic venom, drink their fill of blood, fall out
of the target, and move away from the remains.

14. Silverdust
Spectre – tormented spirit seen in the swirling forms of
silvery dust, swallows years of life from its victims while
desperately trying to embrace them.

15. Quicksilver
Serpent – thirty feet long and thick as a man, an incredibly
rapid moving serpent with a thrashing whip-like tail, and a venomous
bite that causes madness.

16. MetallicAnts – giant steel, copper, and gold colored ants from
somewhere deep underground, while they behave much like standard
giant ants, they supplement their diet with small amounts of metals,
gold seems the most desirable while silver seems to be an intoxicant.

17. Noble Family
Wizard (1d4) – always accompanied by a retinue of
guards/golems, here to inspect their share of the mine asset.

1. Aldabodath
Clan

2. Gaerabin Clan

3. Nyremn Clan

4. Primis Clan

18. Silverspine
Dragon – relatively small steely-scaled wurm with rows of
silvery spines down its back, along its forelimbs, and along its
non-functional battering wings, it breathes a cloud of hallucinatory
gas that confuses foes, and has a certain ability to pluck random
useful spells from the aether that are drawn to its silvered body.

21. Fossil
Chimera – several unrelated ancient animals, their remains
fused into a skeletal monstrosity maddened by competing instincts,
millions of years, and the magical influence of the lodes of
moonmetal.

22. Whisperer
- resembles a bipedal, wingless, bat about five feet tall, with the
v-shaped chests and long forelimbs of a bat, but clawed hands, two of
the fingers are rigid and end in large hooked claws, useful in
climbing, it is intelligent and can mimic most voices and animal
sounds, but is bad at creative improvisation.

23. Xiphid–
person possessed by a daemantine weapon, a Metal Demon from beyond
the starless blackness of the cursed season, the silver deposits in
the mine call out to them and the lesser ones find themselves drawn
here.

24. Guardian
Demon – bound and summoned demons of violent hate, unable to
interact with most beings they are aware of in the mine, their
reaction to intruders is swift and disproportionate.

25. Mineral
Dryads – spirits of living rock with female forms, agitated by
the mining operations they trap mortals within gemstones, or lure
them to their deaths.

Wednesday, June 6, 2018

My first foray into creating a GLOG class, a new wizard school. Since Skerples made it so easy to do yourself in a recent post I had been thinking about my Numismagi (it's just too good of a word not to be a class). Tell me what you think, I'll be back to finish off those minor dungeon encounter tables soon.

GLOG
Wizard - Numismagus

The
Numismagi, the Coin Wizards, are a newer school from Booezor, the
city of riches. They are by nature nobles and social climbers, most
comfortable in a world where money equals power. Their powers
function best against other people rather than monsters, and their
general level of magical strength is comparable to an Orthodox
Wizard.

Perk(s)

Lucky
Coin – You
start with a lucky coin that is your magical focus, you may never
spend it or give it away.

Insufferable
Skinflint –
Your love of money is so great that you must make a save to
purchase any non-essential item, if you fail you may still
purchase the item if you can negotiate at least a 50% discount in
price.

Penny
for Your Trouble – All your
spells consume a coin per MD used if no other cost is mentioned.

Cantrip(s)

1.
Conjure Useful Coin
– (1/hour) – creates a real copper coin in a local currency, if
this is your only coin, it becomes your lucky coin.

3. Numismancy
– (at will) – You know the validity, origin, and value of any
coin. You are familiar with the face imagery of all known coins.

Spells

1.Glittering
Glamour
– R:
0, T: self, D: [dice] hours The caster's appearance grows in
opulence, and gains +2x[dice] bonus to saves vs Domination, Charm,
or Fear effects. The caster appears as a person of a higher social
station, and inspires fear in those of a lower caste.

2.
Speaking Coin
– R: touch, T: one gold coin, D: [dice] hours

The
caster breaks a gold coin into the two face halves. Sounds within
10' of the tails side can be heard by the holder of the heads side
and vice versa. If
you invest 4 [dice] or more into this spell, the duration becomes
permanent.

3.
Light
– R: touch, T: object or creature, D: [dice]x2 hours Object
illuminates as a torch, with a radius of 20’+[dice]x10’.
Alternatively, you can make an Attack roll against a sighted
creature. If you succeed, the creature is blinded for [sum] rounds.
If [sum] is greater than 12, the creature is permanently blinded. You
can chose the color of the light. If you invest 4 [dice] or more
this light has all the qualities of natural sunlight.
Alternatively, if you invest 4 [dice] or more the light can be purest
octarine, although it will only last for 1 round. Octarine light
is extremely dangerous.

4.
Coin Toss
– R: 200', T: creature, D: 0

You
flip a coin and call the result, if your face comes up the target
takes [sum] damage and saves vs. dexterity or is stunned for one
round, if your face does not come up you and the target each take
one damage. You may flip the coin again and act as if the spell
is cast with one fewer MD until you have no MD left.

5.
Command Coins –
R:
30’, T: [sum]x100 coins, D: [dice] hours Coins will leap up
and obey your single-word commands. Affects all unattended coins
in 30' of you and lasts 1 hour. Coins can be commanded to follow
you, hide in crevices, or serve as rollers for heavy statues, but
they are mindless and feeble.

6.
Scrying Coins
– R: touch, T: coins, D: 10 minutes

Ask [dice] number
of questions of a handful of strewn coins. Older and more valuable
coins have more amassed knowledge. Using more coins can also be
helpful

7.
Charm
Person – R:
50', T: person, D: [dice] hours The person regards you as a
good friend and ignores the obvious spell you just cast on them.
If you invest 4 [dice] or more into this spell, the duration becomes
permanent.

You create [dice]
magic coins, each can be flipped once by the bearer for advantage on
any roll.

11.
Gold Piece Rain
– R: 200', T: 20’ diameter, D: 0 Does [sum] damage. As
fireball except that the caster flips a coin into the air, which
becomes a rain of giant glowing coins that disappear on impact,
and the damage is all crushing damage. Doesn't work in places with
low ceilings (less than 100').

12.
Coin Collector
– R: touch, T: creature, D: [dice] hours

The
target is transformed into a gold coin whose face side bears their
likeness. Unwilling targets save vs. spells with a penalty of -2
for each MD invested after the first. If
you invest 4 [dice] or more into this spell, you may have the
duration become permanent.

Mishaps

1.
Magic Dice only
return to your pool on a 1-2 for 24 hours.

2.
Take 1d6 damage.

3.
Random mutation for 1d6 rounds, then make a save. Permanent if you
fail.

4. Your money
spills from its various containers on your person, 1-30% is lost.

5. You have a
sudden compulsion for reckless gambling that lasts three sleepless
days.

6. All your
money-making endeavors fail for one week.

Dooms

1.
Lose all your current money, both stored and on hand.

2. You become the
target of a dedicated guild of expert thieves. Every time you make
money, they seem to find out immediately and rob you blind at the next opportunity.

Monday, June 4, 2018

5/6 of the entry minor dungeon encounter tables for the Foabeléth
Ordirrex, the megadungeon beneath Booezor. Previous tables here, here, here, and over here. Nearly there now, the next and last one is the Moonmetal Mine, which is more construct and humanoid-centric.

The
Labrynthyne

1. Xeazeon –
energy being and trap for magically talented souls, a small
crystalline polygon, transparent but glowing from within, surrounded
by three or more powerful wizard spirits bound into an incandescent
lattice, multicasts and resists many magics.

2. Labrynthyne
Tracker/Courser – biomagical constructs created to track and
harry those who are trapped here, like sleek plastic dogs, they smell
individual magical signatures and disable their targets at the throat
and wrists.

3. Skoshola –
hulking blue-grey quadrupedal beast larger in the front, like a huge
bear with a cluster of fleshy petals for a head and a great mouth
bisecting its chest, they seek to eat magic users above all else.

4. Dreamer –
what appear to be some sort of fetal creatures, each physically
different, blissfully asleep inside iridescent bubbles, they are near
indestructible observational presences from another world and warp
reality around their positions.

5. World Sphinx
– woman and beast on a great scale, an oracle and executioner in
one who reads magical fortunes with the Seeing Cards that can maim
and kill.

6. Flying Eye
– “evil eye” monsters, small and rapid in their chiropteran
flight, they have various gaze attacks depending on their iris color.

7. Gremlin –
living metamagical distortions with a dangerous and annoying sense of
humor.

8. Mind Thief –
a great floating mass of tentacles, jointed mouthparts, and
innumerable eyes, attached to a bloated sack of a body covered with
foot-long lumps, the lumps are the stolen brains of spellcasters
which make the creature the natural opponent to the illithid races.

9. Ethwuu –
tiny tube-snouted, armless creature, flies on the lazy flapping of
several “petals” of skin around its neck, sips the magic from
enchanted items and lasting spells with its hummingbird tongue.

10. WizardConvict – powerful learned magic prodigy, dangerous or
disruptive enough to the city to be banished here.

11. Census Objex
Warden – special heavily outfitted member of the city's
“magical authority”, generally here to interrogate or retrieve an
important exile, always accompanied by two or more Coursers (2) .

12. Warder
Magarchitect – master transmuter here to repair or reinforce
the physical and intangible structures that make the Labrynthyne,
always accompanied by several Lamellar Worms (28), necessary for the
work.

17. Extra-Material
Butterflies – hyper-real, near incandescent, blue, green and
pink, more existent than visitors to this place and capable of softly
flapping a cauterized hole through their bodies as if they were
smoke.

18. Sword
Arcana – made by the
Census Objex, living magic glyph in the sign of the sword, bears
destruction magics, succumbs to restoration magics.

19. Slavecrown
Spider – magical arachnid with a concave body shaped like a
helmet or crown, attaches to a person's head and dominates them.

2. Portal –
leading to a random potentially and probably lethal alternate
reality, a lower vibrational plane, or an elemental plane.

3. Warped Magic
Zone – area of chaotic magical effects, some local wildlife
are attracted here.

4. Quiddath
Incursion – reality's fabric is weak here, and the Illithid
dimension of Quiddath forces itself through altering even the laws
of physics.

21. Coin
Arcana
– made by the Census Objex, living magic glyph in the sign of the
coin, bears choice magics, succumbs to trasmutation magics.

22. Living Spell
– powerful magics that escaped and changed as they were cast,
now sentient but unable to cast themselves they flit about as energy
beings waiting for a strong enough magic-user to possess and live
through.

23. Pulstar –
five tiny stars in a sphere of pulsing translucent gel, hooks like
sparks at the ends of four filaments of light, influences all spells
in a 30' area with its pulsing and until this is known, magics used
against it will go wild or fail outright.

24. Wand
Arcana – made by the
Census Objex, living magic glyph in the sign of the wand, bears
creation magics, succumbs to destruction magics.

25. Riftwalker –
humanoids with features elfin and alien, mauve hairless faces and
thin, rubbery, four-armed bodies, they are able to manipulate and
even ignore the environment of this place.

26. Astral Child
– giant fat and glittering opalescent infant, it has wandered into
this psuedo-plane and rages with its incredibly hard skin and
strength of twenty men with closed eyes.

27. Grail
Arcana – made by the
Census Objex, living magic glyph in the sign of the grail, bears
change magics, succumbs to abjuration magics.

28. Lamellar Worm
– iridescent annelids from whose byproducts the structure of the
Labrynthyne are woven, non-aggressive but capable of breaking down
any solid matter to create their building material.